Nonsense Newsletter No. 89: Midseason Heroes, the Grading Dilemma, A Century-old error card and More!
Sponsored by SGC Cards gosgc.com
In this week’s scintillating edition of the Nonsense Newsletter, John Dudley takes a few moments to check in on the MLB’s midseason risers and fallers. I turn back the clock to a time before grading was a thing, and try to see gauge who loves it, and who don’t and why? Ans the Quick Hits section…. well… that’ll blow your mind as well! So sit back, kick back, relax and absorb all this knowledge in this week’s Nonsense Newsletter!
Contributor: John Dudley
The All-Star Break is done which means things are serious from here on out in the MLB world. Mid-season breaks are great times to evaluate players and one’s collecting goals. Think of the All-Star Game as a reminder to freshen up those want lists and listings.
MLB has been on a hot streak with rules changes and a bevy of young talent making the game more culturally relevant than it has been in a while. Let’s try to ride MLB’s good fortune by picking a few players poised to break out, at least hobby-wise, in the second half of the season.
Contributor: John McTaggart
Back in the day, when I first tinkered with this hobby, there was no such thing as a graded card.
There was no PSA 10s or SGC Gold labels or BGS Black labels for that matter either.
It was just a card, and a variety of opinions on what condition a particular card was in at that moment.
I can remember arguments across dealer tables, people studying the corners and edges for minute upon minute assessing the condition.
I can remember lengthy discussions about what it means to be in mint condition, and what it means to be in near-mint condition.
Then, the occasional slab came along… and was usually chuckled at by most back then.
No one really understood the concept.
No one really could wrap their minds around someone else telling them what the condition is of a particular card.
And, of course, the encasing of the card really blew people’s minds.
The thought of never being able to actually touch the card again was ridiculous to most of us in the beginning.
Well, time passed, and we all know the path graded cards took from then until now.
Quick Hits
Vintage- A recently discovered 1910 T206 card of “Slow Joe” Doyle is headed to the auction block at Robert Edwards Auctions starting Monday, July 24. The rare card features the “New York Nat’l” printing error and Peidmont Cigarettes back, and is graded in VG+, a SGC 3.5 condition. For more on the card, the auction and the story behind the card, click here.
Hobby News- Move over Honus! Slow Joe Doyle looks to unseat Wagner as the most valuable tobacco-era card. The card in question is just one of ten known copies of the 1910 206 oddity. Read more about it here.
Hobby News- The National is almost upon us. Many signers at the show have been known for a while but the show has been hard at work adding more. The show aims to have more autos signed at this show than any previous National.
Pop Culture News- There really must be something about the overlap of Kevin Smith fans and sports card fans that I never noticed. Upper Deck has done well mining Kevin Smith’s movies for trading cards and now Topps wants in on the action with GPK cards inspired by some of your favorites from Smith’s films.
The Sports Card Nonsense newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors and contributors. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation for purchases or of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any assets.